Stage IV ALK Lung Cancer: Elizabeth's Patient Story
This lung cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Biomarkers
- ALK mutation / ALK-positive
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- Liver; bones
- Treatment
- targeted therapy
- Outcome
- In Memory
Treatment course, step by step
- Oral ALK-targeted therapy described as a pill that blocked the ALK mutation and stopped cancer-cell spread; the drug name is not reported.
- July 2019 scan showed no evidence of disease after targeted therapy.
What happened, in summary
Elizabeth Moir was 29 and in the third trimester of her second pregnancy when severe chest pain sent her to the emergency room. She was first told the spot on her lung was a calcified granuloma, a small noncancerous area of inflammation. Two months later, after delivering a healthy baby girl, she struggled to regain her strength and became alarmed when she started coughing blood. Further tests, scans, and a second opinion led to a diagnosis of Stage IV lung cancer that had spread to her liver and bones. Biomarker testing found an ALK mutation, making her eligible for targeted therapy. Elizabeth began taking an oral medicine described as a pill that blocked the mutation and helped stop cancer cells from spreading; the specific drug name is not reported. In July 2019, a scan showed no evidence of disease, and she was able to return to a more normal life with her family. She also used her story to urge young women to take symptoms seriously and advocate for themselves. Elizabeth passed away on August 27, 2021, at age 32, from complications caused by Stage IV lung cancer.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Lung Cancer Research Foundation. Read the original in full
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team.